November 9, 2022

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE REFERENCE:

“Jesus said to Pilate, ‘You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from [My Father] above. Therefore, the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.’” (John 19.11)

“The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race [the world] had become on the earth. The Lord saw that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart had become evil all the time. The Lord regretted that He had made human beings to dwell on [His] earth. The heart of the Lord God was deeply troubled.” (Genesis 6.5,6)

“Therefore, God gave them over to the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity to degrade one another with their bodies. They then freely exchanged the truth about God for a lie. They worshiped and served the things they created rather than to serve the Creator who shall be forever praised. [So be it.] Amen.” (Romans 1.24,25)

TODAY’S REFLECTION:

Today is the day after Mid-Term Election Day in the United States. My mouth will speak what has filled my heart and what fills my heart is infinite sorrow in the midst of finite gladness.

I do not understand how anyone can now doubt the word of God in spirit and in truth. We are seeing the evidence of the declaration of God’s word as it pertains to the persistent brokenness of the world. Are we now in such a downhill momentum that no amount of “braking” can turn the breaking down of society? The answer is as it always has been: YES! But, what we must do is to venture forth into those caught in the downward spiral, the vortex of sin and sinful thinking, and rescue those who have not succumbed to the total depravity of the “one who has turned over Jesus to be crucified.” And I am not speaking about God whose action was captured in the words from the sacred hymn “How Great Thou Art” which states “And when I think that God His Son not sparing, sent Him to die – I scarce can take it in. That on the cross my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin.” Nor was Jesus accusing His Father of such “sin.” We know that Pilate would have never have been a judge over Jesus if it was not for the sinful heart of the Temple leadership under the guidance of the Chief High Priest. He, in fact, washed his hands of the whole situation. But, he was pressed into an unwanted and unwarranted action by that same leadership who then threatened an appeal of his decision to Caesar who had given him authority to execute Caesar’s justice in the land of Judea and specifically in Jerusalem. And, if not for the work of the “possessed” Judas of Kerioth who succumbed to his own theo-political venue and opened the door of his heart to the “tempter’s snare” with the intention of forcing Jesus to act according to his will instead of accepting God’s will, Jesus would not have been (although God would have found the means for this sacrifice on our behalf to be made) captured in the Garden of Gethsemane and delivered to the Temple leadership to initiate the pre-planned directive to rid them of this prophet of Nazareth whose truth spoke against them as if they were “against God.” And, let’s truly put the blame and responsibility for the “greater” sin where it truly belongs. It belongs on the Chief of all Sinners (and sorry, Paul, that title was already taken)- Satan, the True Insurrectionist and Cast out Lucifer. But, let’s not make the situation worse by surrendering ourselves to their depravity which God has surrendered them to because of the hardness of their heart, mind and soul. What happens on that Day when the Spirit of God that dwells in each of us speaks the truth “in love” and declares “This one is beyond forgiveness- Guilty of utter faithlessness” is between God and Jesus. Those who stand and kneel before the Judgment Seat will have no say in the matter. Their lives and their intents will be the words of their final defense.

Until that day, our work as those who are commissioned to “broadcast the good news of a great joy” has just been leveled up and we must double-down. We dare not hedge our bets on our own salvation by giving ourselves over to the sorrow of “their” discontent with God as “their” singular intent to separate themselves from God. What we know as mighty ones of God, followers of the Way of Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, God’s begotten Son and our Lord and Savior, is this: there are lives in the balance. There are lives who still can accept the saving grace offered by Jesus who accepted the mantel of responsibility by bearing the yoke fitted perfectly for Him to share with us at Calvary. There are lives in the offing whom God has known before they are even in the womb who will benefit from a commitment to declare the truth in love of selfless service as the next generation to the next generation. The price of death is terminal. It’s impact is inescapable. The price of life is invaluable. It’s impact is undeniable. What price then should be paid for love? Jesus said it, and I repeat it often, “No greater love is there than this: that one lay down his/her life for the sake of another.” And let me speak this truth here in understanding and embracing this divine explanation of authentic love: it is a decision of willingness by the individual to effect such love in action. One who cannot make such a decision for sacrificial giving cannot be the example then of this “greater love.” And I make no excuses for this next statement: the unborn can make no such decision regardless of their means of being conceived. Yet, this I know, “love can find a way through any situation to guide the willing through the valleys of the shadows of death when Christ is lifted up for all to see.”

I have sorrow full in my heart today because “the valuing of the worth of self before others, the Great Lie, devalues the life and potential life of both self and others.” But, our commission as mighty ones of God is not completed. While we may be closer, and we draw closer every day, to the close of this age [which is of the Church], we are not there yet. Therefore, we must “fight the good fight and run the race to the finish.” We must fully commit to the tasks at hand in faith, hope and love as He, Jesus the Christ, is fully committed to us in the provision of “the Way, the Truth and the Life.” We again know the full measure of the work ahead of us. We cannot lay aside that which has been given to us. That which has been given to us is the “call to preach the good news, heal the sick, set the captives free, baptize believers into the community of faith and be willing to lay down our lives for the sake of affirming God’s saving grace for the other.” And we must do so with the “peace that surpasses all understanding” and with the love that is unfailing to honor God and unyielding to the temptation of the “Chief Sinner” who offers the lie “surely you will not die.” There is unforgivable sin! Count on it and avoid it at all costs!

Now where my heart was filled with sorrow because of decisions made by a nation not fully given to God and God’s will to live as Christ did in the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven, my heart is filled with conviction and confidence to declare the truth in authentic love honoring Him who has valued me through the cross. How about you?

TODAY’S PRAYER:

Your will be done! AMEN.